Irish Grinstead, a member of the R&B trio 702 known for their 1999 hit “Where My Girls At?”, died Saturday evening at age 43, according to her sister.
A cause of death was not immediately known, but the group announced in December that Irish Grinstead was “on medical leave due to serious medical issues.”
LeMisha Grinstead, Irish Grinstead’s sister and bandmate, said in an Instagram post announcing her death that she had “had a long battle and has finally found peace.”
“That girl was as bright as the stars! She was not only beautiful on the outside but also on the inside,” wrote LeMisha Grinstead. “Being on stage with her was a joy that I will cherish for the rest of my life!”
The Grinstead sisters and Kameelah Williams formed 702, named after the telephone area code in Las Vegas, where they were from.
“Devastated and heartbroken,” Ms. Williams wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. “I want to say a lot, but there is no way to say what your heart has not fully accepted.”
The group’s 1996 debut album, No Doubt, featured a song called “Steelo” featuring Missy Elliott. A version of the track was the theme song for the Nickelodeon show “Cousin Skeeter”. The song was also sampled in a 2019 dance music hit produced by Diplo.
“May your beautiful soul rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord,” Ms. Elliot wrote in one Post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. “Many prayers for the entire Grinstead family.”
702’s defining hit was “Where My Girls At?”, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1999, according to Billboard.
As news of Irish Grinstead’s death spread, fan tributes flooded social media in the form of music video clips of Irish Grinstead dancing alongside her sister and wife Williams in distinctive ’90s glamor and choreography.
The group released its last album, “Star,” 20 years ago, but continued to perform gigs, with several scheduled for the rest of the year.
Irish Grinstead’s twin sister, Orish Grinstead, died in 2008, according to IMDb.